Americas Best Value Inn Horseheads

We ended up leaving because the room smelled overwhelmingly of fresh cigarette smoke. It also hadn’t been vacuumed, and there were stains on the sheets and walls. The receptionist was the one bright spot, friendly, understanding, and helpful.

The front desk gentleman was kind when we checked in, and he refunded all our money when we decided to leave. That customer service is the only reason I’m giving this two stars. The room was in terrible shape: a used towel sat on the bathroom sink, the bathroom mirror was stained, the handle between the beds was broken, and the lamp looked damaged. The door had a latch but no ball lock, while the sliding door curtain left part of the glass exposed. It was held by a flimsy bit of metal, so I worried someone could look in or get inside. The smoke detector was covered in plastic. The shower seemed to be the only clean part, probably because nobody uses it. We’d read reviews and seen pictures suggesting this was decent for the price, but that wasn’t what we found. After getting our keys, we learned our ground-floor room had a sliding door to the parking lot. The lot had more than ten people around, some sitting on bikes, a couple working on cars, and others greeting each other in a way that made us think a drug deal might have happened. There were beer cans and liquor around, and a strong smell of alcohol. I wouldn’t recommend staying here to anyone.

Getting here was easy, and the room was spacious. It looked clean and there were no bugs, though the outside and the room decor both looked rough. The fridge froze my water bottles. Only one bedside lamp worked, there was just one usable outlet on one side of the bed, and the towels were very thin. We booked for two, but there were only three pillows, so we had to ask for more towels and a garbage can. It’s overpriced.

We booked two rooms at the last minute for the race in Watkins glen after reading the reviews. I know businesses can get false reviews, so we gave this place a chance. The owner had said three weeks earlier that they’d review their cleaning practices, but it clearly hadn’t happened. The first room looked a little dirty at a glance, with dirt on the floor and in the sink. Then we checked the other one and found moldy black poop in, on, and around the toilet. We went back and looked more closely at the first room. Under the blankets were multiple hairs, including head and private area hairs. There were also people living there and lurking around. We left. We’re reasonable and not high maintenance, but this was way over the top. Please believe the reviews. I’m surprised this place is allowed to stay open.